Nissan pulled the wraps off a pair
of prototype vehicles today – one is an all-electric and one a hybrid. Both of
the vehicles take advantage of new lithium-ion batteries that Nissan and NEC
jointly developed. The two vehicles were developed under the NISSAN GT 2012
business plan.

The advanced lithium-ion batteries
used in the prototype vehicles feature
a compact, laminated configuration that delivers twice the electrical power
when compared to traditional cylindrical configurations. Nissan says that the
compact design of the batteries allows for improved vehicle packaging and a
wider range of applications when compared to traditional batteries.

The full electric vehicle uses the
advanced batteries along with a newly developed 80kW motor and inverter. Nissan
says the electric vehicle uses a front-wheel drive configuration and that the
advanced laminated batteries are installed under the floor of the vehicle. The
laminated design of the batteries means that the vehicles interior and storage
space are not sacrificed to battery storage. Nissan says that the full electric
vehicle will go into production in 2010 and will feature a new and unique body
style not based on existing Nissan vehicles.

Nissan's prototype hybrid electric
vehicle introduces a pair of new technologies Nissan says are breakthroughs --
a high-performance rear-wheel drive system and a parallel-powertrain hybrid
system. Nissan says that both the hybrid technology and the rear-wheel drive
are original designs -- in this case, the system is placed within a 2010
Infiniti G37 Sedan.

Nissan's parallel-powertrain system
connects one motor directly to an engine and transmission via two clutches.
This layout allows the vehicle to switch between the dual clutches to optimize
and conserve energy utilization and improve fuel-efficiency. Nissan says its
parallel-powertrain eliminates the need for typical torque converters and
contributes to higher responsiveness and linear acceleration.

Nissan describes the action of the
hybrid system as:

Idle-stop: The battery is used to power the motor to save on fuel.

Regular driving: The engine is used to power the motor as well as regenerate
the battery.

Acceleration: Both the engine and battery (power assist) is used to power the
motor to achieve smooth acceleration.

Deceleration: Energy from braking is conserved and re-routed back to regenerate
the battery.

Nissan isn’t alone in introducing
new hybrid vehicles. Yesterday DailyTech reported that Honda was bringing the Insight back
to the U.S. as a 2010 model for an MSRP of $18,500. The Insight is rumored to
get over 70 miles per gallon.

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Well considering all the electronics on this car it's probably not possible to leave anything on such that you would kill the battery. Most cars now will shut off dome lights and headlights to prevent this kind of thing.

Otherwise I highly doubt it, if the clutches require computer input to control the hybrid system then there'd be no power to actuate the system in such a manner. But again, I'm sure the electronics are such that you probably can't kill the battery without trying. Not even sure if the starting battery for the engine is the same as the battery pack for the electric drive.